"Daddy Warbucks and the Merchants of Death"

Good name for a punk band...

Yes, but Daddy Warbucks and his Merchants of Death are making a killing!

George W. Bush is one of the most successful presidents of all time
when it comes to advancing the interests of the people who got him elected. The charges that he's stupid, incompetent, or deranged, are ill conceived at best, because he is in fact supremely qualified to represent the ruling elite in this country. The fact that he doesn't represent or care about ordinary working people should come as no surprise. Money is all that matters in politics, everything else is chimera.

right on Grousefeather! He is not delusional.

He is doing exactly what his supporters want him to do.

Democracy is not the goal unless it can be bought and sold.

Grousefeather articulates well what I've been saying for years: George W. Bush is a wildly successful president beyond his supporters wildest dreams. He has achieved:
1. A $1.3 trillion heist of wealth from the poor and middle class via tax cuts. Bush and his supporters don't care they've destoryed the fabric of America (what was formerly a largely pluralistic and egalitarian society), they just want the money.
2. Started a war with an oil-rich Middle Eastern country to perpetuate a fossil-fuel dependent society that will be slow to respond to the environmental and climate disasters our addiction to oil causes.
3. Established a police state that will protect the rich and incarcerate the rest of us.

Yes, George W. Bush is one successful son-of-a-bitch.

I disagree with Grousefeathers. Bush is stupid and he is deranged, because I consider sociopathy to be a derangement.

He definitely, however, is not incompetent. Or, rather, his handlers are not. From the rape of public lands, to the looting of the public treasury, the appointment of crooks to public offices, to the military gentrification of New Orleans, the dismantling of Iraq, and the staging of 9-11, this junta has ruled efficiently and effectively to further the ruling class agenda.

He's a stupid puppet, easily manipulated by his handlers. That's why they installed him as President.

another extremely well written and educated piece by robert fisk. the wealth of the countries buying these weapons is far greater than their 'wealth' of common sense. but then they can afford to squander......

The problem with Mr Bush is that he cannot adjust to new situations. When he talks in the Middle East, he assumes that he is talking to the Americans. There is a big difference, if you know what I mean. Some buy his nonsense, others don't.

The M.O. of the current occupants of the US Executive Branch believe that power creates reality.

Those in power exist above reality and dictate it like God on the first day of Creation.

Those that attempt to contain the powerful as bound by reality are losers, geeks, or simply "out to lunch."

That's the mentality that leads to these absurd events that Bob Fisk is forced to experience recurrently like a Bill Murray film.

The aide said that guys like me were 'in what we call the reality-based community,' which he defined as people who 'believe that solutions emerge from your judicious study of discernible reality.' I nodded and murmured something about enlightenment principles and empiricism. He cut me off. 'That's not the way the world really works anymore,' he continued. 'We're an empire now, and when we act, we create our own reality. And while you're studying that reality – judiciously, as you will – we'll act again, creating other new realities, which you can study too, and that's how things will sort out. We're history's actors . . . and you, all of you, will be left to just study what we do.'"

George Wanker Bush did not say this; supposedly it was Karl Rove. But it might as well have been Bush. If this does not represent STUPIDITY in its rankest, most grotesquely neon form, then nothing does.

Bravo, to Mr. Fisk, who has been a reliable source of info and analysis since "day one" on what is coming down in the Mudled East!

This president is high on dope and low on IQ.

Mordechai,

Yeah. The only thing you can do when you hear something like that is shake your head, pack up, and head for the door.

There is absolutely no reasoning with these people. They reject all the fundamentals of rational thought / critical thinking.

The genesis of all action is the loaded phallus.

The adverse reaction comes only from the eunuch gallery.

mirf59:

If I had the money, I'd "head for the door". But I don't have it. The last time I looked, I still had my balls. But I suppose they'll come for them too sooner or later.

In the sense of allowing the forces of Economics and Power to exert their natural tendencies, there is nothing original or surprising about so called Presidential Achievements. The size of the sums involved measures the extent of the corruption of the US military weapons industry, as well as the the quality and quantity of the weapons. Oil revenues are still astronomical, and the US has to get its dollars back again. So the weapons are the best overt security oil money can buy. There is no pretense that anything can be done about festering resource and cultural inequities in the Middle East, or in the US. Money spends itself maintaining the status quo.

Read again, Mordechai Shiblikov above, then read material from the following to be found at "Google"--"Psychopathy The Psychopath: The Mask of Sanity" A Basic Hypothesis of Psychopathy From The Mask of Sanity by Hervey Cleckley ... A serious linkage exists.

Read again, Mordechai Shiblikov above, then read material from the following to be found at "Google"–"Psychopathy The Psychopath: The Mask of Sanity" A Basic Hypothesis of Psychopathy From The Mask of Sanity by Hervey Cleckley … A serious linkage exists.

This is a very good article, in the tradition of Robert Fisk.

But I do make one objection - I find it rather abhorrent that Robert Fisk of all people would find it appropriate to condemn Saudi Arabia, it's peoples and it's governments for the fact that majority of the 9/11 hijackers were Saudi. There is a nebulous concept called guilt by association that never holds up in a court of law and it is by this shaky idea that Saudi Arabia has been endlessly maligned, notwithstanding the fact that the government and the vast majority of Saudis had nothing to do with the tragedy of Sept. 11

Well Bush may be stupid but his handlers have made themselves an enormous amount of money at the sheeples expense, so who are the really stupid ones, those who voted for Bush who are not in the circle.

How anybody could vote for a Republican and most Democrats taking home the wages that most of them get beats me. Clinton gave a bigger tax cut to the rich than Bush did and for one good reason, to create a super class, a new Europe of Kings and Lords and endless wars.

The USA is now in a recession, a lot of Americans will lose their homes, no jobs, they've been exported abroad and all because most Americans haven't got the brains they were born with.

The USA not many years ago was envied and looked up to, now it's become the laughing stock of the world with a President the " Comic in Chief", don't you cringe when you see him performing like a circus monkey.

The " Hijackers " were stooges paid for from funds sent to them by the head of ISI, Pakistan intelligence in the sum of $100,000. They were under the impression they were taking part in an excercise to simulate an attack but unknowingly became the real thing.

I've read many articles in the past week regarding the significance of Bush's whirlwind tour.

Fisk's austerity and clarity are welcome relief.

The Bin Ladens and Bushes of this world sit at tables in secret. They are like vampires planning an elaborate orgy, deciding who will profit most from the next conflagration and wholesale slaughter of innocents.

They think genocide is a function of Natural Selection.

"I tremble for my country, when I reflect that God is just: that his justice cannot sleep forever." T.J.

The quote cited above by Mordecai Shiblikov is from a NY Times Magazine article by Ron Suskind that was published years ago about the current Bush administration...seems to have been prophetic. However, it's decidedly not "stupidity" the quote reflects, but a Machiavellian understanding of the role MSM plays in our culture and society, and the acknowledgement of Rove and his crew that they had mastered the process of controlling not only the message, but our putative reality as well.

We bought Bush's act from Day One of the 2000 campaign, despite his empty suit, his bogus religious conversion, his untreated alcoholism, his non-military service, his apparent intellectual deficits and pathetic public utterances, his phony Texas shitkicker act and his glaring record of non-accomplishments in business and in life.
Gore handed him the White House on a platter when he decided, "in the interests of the country" (now there was a brilliant decision) not to contest the election.

Since then, we've been captive to this craven but crafty moron and his vile crew of miscreants no less than if we'd been hijacked out of bed at night and renditioned to a secret prison in Bulgaria for "questioning". Grousefeather is the prophet in this string. This guy Bush is either a master puppeteer or a perfect puppet...in the end, it really doesn't matter. The dark objectives of his reign have been achieved, as Mr. Fisk points out in his last paragraph.

Instead of a safer, more peaceful, more harmonious Middle Eastern landscape, and by extension a global one, after 7 years of Bush, we're clearly mired in the atavistic reality of a brutal, barbaric war-torn region with little hope of real progress toward peace and clear lines of demarcation between the "us" of rich, mutually dependent Arab states (and of course Israel), and the "them" of Iran and its satellites in Iraq, Lebanon and elsewhere. It might as well be 30 or 40 or 50+ years ago, when our CIA was so "helpful" in removing (killing) the democratically elected Mr. Moseddeg from power in Iran.

So, in effect as the 21st century progresses, we're all going backward, thanks to the "incompetence" of Dubya. He'll retire to his barren "ranch" in Texas, where he can clear brush to his heart's content, while the rest of us sink into a recession at least partly brought on by the massive transfer of public U.S. treasure into private U.S. hands, engineered by the Bush family cartel through the Carlyle Group and other non-profit humanitarian organizations. Of course, the greatest single transfer in the history of this country, and perhaps the civilized world, will be the "war" in Iraq, which in the end has made millionaires out of many thousands of corporate predators, contractors and Iraqis politically connected enough to wangle a space at the trough, while the Iraqi people, their country and their society goes down the tubes.

Since all Bush and his minions ever really gave a shit about was control of the oil, and therefore control of the puppet government that controls the oil, he was hugely successful in Iraq, and by extension throughout the Middle East, since planned chaos was his strategic objective all along. How is this different from the most sophisticated underworld shenanigans under the RICO act, except on a scale grander by an order of magnitude not seen since Rome was raping and pillaging during the height of that empire?
The answer is it's not different. Welcome to the first de facto government by WASP organized crime in American history.

Riches beyond measure into the pockets of his cronies and supporters, no impeachment (thanks to the compliant Democrats), no war crimes, Rove safely out of reach from any prosecution, Libby virtually pardoned, Cheney and Rumsfeld ready for the lecture circuit, Tenet with the Medal of Freedom for his "stellar" performance at the CIA, Powell blissfully in denial, Rice stunningly ineffective and dull at the same time, the mainstream press hobbled and (many feel justly) discredited, perhaps never to recover sny former claim to credibility, imminent recession left a broken egg in the lap of the next president, along with Iraq and the whole chronic Middle Eastern mess, and this guy sleeping and preening in the luxury of Saudi noblesse oblige...what more could George W have wished for when he pulled the trigger on Shock and Awe back in March, 2003, except maybe a public visitation from Jesus Christ in the Oval Office?

It's been said before ad infinitum, but a society gets the leadership it deserves, and more than anything else, George Bush and his legacy are a reflection of an America gone to the dogs, morally and ethically bankrupt, consumed by the programmed fear FDR warned us about almost 80 years ago. Perhaps we deserve a guy like Romney as our next president, but I hope for some kind of intervention.

And so, smoke keeps pouring into our eyes and blinding us, while the robber elite keeps stuffing their pockets.

suhail_shafi, hate to diagree, and maybe your correct, about the vast majority of Saudis, but I belive that the Saudi leadership were very much involved in 911. And this trip of bush, he's just keepin inline with the family business. The biz of WAR, and profit. This trip he was a weapon salesman. Would you buy a used bomb from this guy? Thanks Texrey

On-target analysis, Stonecutter; depressing but stunningly accurate. I tried to get these very points across during a political conversation at a dinner party last night and the others--who were all progressive "liberal" academics and published authors of scholarly works--looked at me as though I'd lost my mind when I suggested that contrary to popular thinking, Bush has been a total success in Iraq. It just depends on what you think the goal is....once you understand that it is chaos so as to take strategic control and transfer wealth into the hands of a few, it all makes perfect sense.

"He's a stupid puppet, easily manipulated by his handlers."

In that case, it matters not if the puppet is stupid or not. But it would be very dangerous to assume from this that the handlers of the puppet are stupid. And, since the intelligence of the person pulling the strings is far, far more important that the intelligence that's the pieces of wood and cloth that's the puppet, it would be very foolish to be mislead by always just referring to the stupid puppet. It the person that's pulling the strings secretly from off the stage that counts. Never underestimate your enemy.

It would also be very foolish to believe that replacing the puppet with one with a (D) after its name would make any difference at all.

"but I belive that the Saudi leadership were very much involved in 911"

Define 'saudi leadership'. Its a royal house of some 4000 or more princes. There are certainly different factions of any group that since. So when you say or think something like this, you need to be far more specific. Does evidence point back to some of these princes? Or to King Abdullah himself? Don't assume its all the same thing.

Walking arm in arm with the Arab King makes Bush look like the fool that he is. But then, the public fell for Reagan, so this charade is no surprise. This incompetent, uncaring, destructive fool, who lies and steals from his people is there to make money for his pals and for himself and thinks that this sale of arms will keep america afloat until he leaves office. What a jerk, what a fool. It's really embarassing to see our President acting like such an idiot, sucking up to a dictator and to a country that is the opposite of what America stands for. Maybe people should think extra hard before they fall for this type of hype when voting for the next fool.

and so it goes....

there are many dots we could connect in this whole mess we call the Middle East Peace Process. Our arms industries make huge profits by selling to both sides in the conflict. Our leaders (in government and commerce) engage all sides in theatrics they claim to be 'talks'. The reporting here in the states is continually negative and heavy on the violence.

My ideas...
1) let Israel do for themselves
2) give the various Arab States notice we intend to be free of their oil by 2020
3) let other world powers know we expect them to step up to the challenges in the Middle East
4) clearly define the consequences for all concerned (Russia and China included) if the Middle East 'melts down' into a nuke conflict
5) create better inter-governmental and business relations here in the western hemisphere

what say you?

And if things don't change it will be Hil and Bill(the sequel) taking over the reigns of empire and taking their turn raping the Palestinian people. Why does no one ask her what will be her policy on Bill's policy of extraordinary rendition?

Remember Woody Allen's Zelig. That is Bill Clinton. Will the real Ronald McDonald Raygun please stand up?

Sure, Bush does crazy and cruel things, but no one out there is doing anything to stop him. No one is impeaching him ("Impeachment is off the table."), no one is cutting funding to the war, no one is doing anything. Not the repubs and not the dems, either. Kucinich is trying, but no one, not even the progressive anti-war gang, is helping him.

Bush is an easy target, a scapegoat, but both sides are complicit in this mess. The reason why is because neither thinks it's a mess. Instead, what's happening is what they want. If the dems really wanted to win the upcoming election big, they'd push Kucinich and his ideas at the American people, who'd vote him into office in a landslide if they really knew what he had to say, AND if they were told his ideas were right by authority figures that they trusted, like someone on the mainstream news channels.

The dems aren't cowards at all. They're brave as hell and they're perfectly willing to lose to the repubs if it means not having to give up on Iraqi oil and also on the control over the American people that the Bush junta has given ALL of the politicos.

Wait a second. Let's be logical.

History of extensive drug use, cruel acts as a child.
Contempt for laws
Breaking of laws without remorse.
General lack of remorse: says he always sleeps well.
Totally unapologetic about lying when discovered. fels entitled
Admits in public to breaking the law, non-chalantly, assuming he is entitled to.
Inappropiate affect: humorous about deadly matters such as world wars.
Callousness with the families of the dead soldiers.
Difficulties speaking when dealing with emotions
Attitude toward executions in Texas : not one pardon. Broke records.
IRAQ

There is abundant good evidence to make a diagnosis of Antisocial Personality disorder or, if you prefer, sociopath.

He is not deluded, he is not an idiot. He is an uncurious, unintelligent, and rudimentary individual, and a sociopath.

Remember, Reagan was elected while showing signs of Alzheimer's.

One demented president, and at least one sociopath.

The House of Saud, in their relentless promotion of Wahhabi Islam, definitely bear some responsibility for terrorism. Not only have they nurtured extremism domestically, they have exported it by sponsoring radical madrassas in South Asia and Indonesia.

Just try to calculate the amount of money poured into the oil-rich Middle East since the West's industrial revolution. Then ask how in the world the Arab nations can possibly be so poor today. What number do your calculations lead to? 9/11, of course....

lizard...
you have done much more research into 'lil Bush than me but I do agree he has some disorder. I suggested to my siblings back in '03 that he was pychotic (sp?) and they responded with frightfully pale looks of horror. Now I know; what they were affraid of was "what if he's right about our man?".
What I want to suggest here is that Bush has gotten a free pass all this time because the roots of his presidency are very deep. To you this is certainly obvious, but it has only become clear to many of us very recently. It would have been so easy for many to cast him aside as 'unfit' for his position if he had done like Clinton or Nixon... that is, to do One thing so reprehensable and obviously deceitful that no one can excuse him. So I believe the trouble with Bush is he is truely "the fool on the hill"; who was put there by various government operatives (remember he was in fact "selected" by the Supreme Court) and while even he is unaware of this They have seen to it that he remains in office to serve their purposes. I'm thinking of business and career government folks... round up the obvious suspects.

George Bush is mentally ill. The American people need to face this reality and deal with it! The man needs to be removed from office; pronto!

Dear Bob,

As usual, after reading your article, "I don't know if I 'll cry, I don't know if I'll die laughing,"
You know when you can't stop laughing, when something is really daft?

There's a phrase in French, which explains this. You'll know it, living in The Lebanon.

It is:"fou rire".: Rire dont on n'est pas le maître.

So, my student asked me how this was said in English. I couldn't give an adequate answer.

Is there anything so explicit in the English language?

If not can we coin the phrase?

If it became a new trendy term, that would be thanks to your communication, my student, and the American ridiculous.

"And this is the dog talking".

So, what I'm reading on this thread is this:

Junior is the puppet, and the puppeteers pulling the strings (read: the Rothschilds and other world banking elite, otherwise known as rich filth) are using him to get exactly what they want - constant chaos and the world masses (now including all of the 'western' nation's middle classes, not just the U.S. middle class) living on, or over, the edge.

Junior has a mental disorder, as lizard has documented. Well, so did Hitler.

So, at what point will the puppeteers call an end to the current middle east war? WW2 ended when the Rothschilds and world elite decided that they had made as much money as they could with the war effort and turned to making money through the 'rebuilding' effort (which was simply moving their manufactured chaos to another part of the world - i.e. state of Isreal and defacto war on Palestine).

Will the Rothschilds allow their puppet to open up another war front? I don't think so. I believe the rich filth have realized that they have sucked all of the money out of the iraq war that they can. They'll call an end to it like they ended WW2. But will the sociopath called Junior go the same way as the sociopath called Hitler?

The more interesting question is, as others have pointed out, at what point will the monster system (read: capitalism and uncontrolled greed) that the rich filth created turn back upon them?

And those of us who are not of the rich filth, but through our actions, have supported (tacitly or overtly) the growth of monster, will not escape when the monster turns.

We do live in interesting times.

This President it guilty of treason, there is no other words for it. He has sold out this Country and he is setting things up for business as usual when Hillary Clinton becomes President.

The Bush's and the Clinton's have a plan to control this Country for generation to come. Vision this Clinton in 08-Bush Jeb in 16, Clinton Chelsey in 24. Not possible think about it. This President and the Clinton's consider themselves the royality of the United States and we have an oppotunity to stop it now. Do not nominate Hillary.

"Yes, George W. Bush is one successful son-of-a-bitch."

Correction: Yes, George W. Bush is one successful goddamned son-of-a-bitch'n war-criminal who deserves nothing less than a firing squad.